BKO+ Track – Engaging with controversy and friction in teaching
In an increasingly polarised society, the need to discuss sensitive and controversial topics in education is growing.
This BKO+ track offers you tools to deal with social issues in the classroom in a safe and constructive way. You will discover how to avoid shying away from difficult topics, but rather to use them as powerful learning opportunities.
By combining research informed insights with your own experiences, you will develop powerful lessons that allow space for diverse perspectives.
Track details
In today’s society, discussions seem to harden and contradictions are magnified in the media. This growing polarisation can also make its way into the classroom, affecting both the sense of safety and the quality of education. Teachers and students, for example, often report feeling tension when discussing controversial or sensitive topics. At the same time, education offers a valuable opportunity: to engage with social issues, explore diverse perspectives, and contribute to social change.
In this track, we explore various ways of teaching about social controversies and other sensitive topics. By linking recent insights from research to your own experiences, expertise and positionality, you learn to design and guide lessons that address these topics in a careful and constructive way.
Intended learning outcome
As a participant, you will;
- Identify controversial or sensitive topics within your own subject area;
- Explore the tensions that students (may) experience around these topics;
- Create challenging yet safe learning environments that allow for diverse perspectives;
- Develop various dialogical teaching methods that stimulate discussion of controversial topics;
- Lead constructive dialogues on complex or emotionally charged topics;
- Reflect critically on your own role and positionality as a teacher;
- Apply recent theoretical and empirical insights to effectively address social issues in the classroom;
- Share effective teaching strategies with colleagues to foster inspiration and peer learning.
Good to know
| Target audience | Teachers who have obtained their UTQ (BKO in Dutch) and wish to further develop their dialogue skills | |
| Time investment | 80 hours (40 hours workplace learning and 40 hours sessions and preparation) | |
| Trainers | Erjo Beitler and Geerte Savenije | |
| Participants | Minimum 6 – maximum 14 participants | |
| Dates |
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| Language | English and Dutch | |
| Addendum | Upon successful completion of this track, you will receive a UvA addendum to your UTQ (BKO) certificate. |
Assignments and assessment
To successfully complete the BKO+ Track, participants must meet the following requirements:
- All portfolio assignments have been completed;
- A contribution has been made to the group project;
- The reflection report has been assessed as satisfactory.
During the BKO+ Track, you will facilitate a self-designed dialogue with either students or colleagues. You will then write a reflection report explaining the design and evaluating on its implementation.
The reflection report will be assessed by both an internal and an external assessor.
Registration
- Registration buttons for employees with an @UvA.nl email address:
- For AUC, ACTA or FdG (AMC) employees: send an email with your name, faculty and date for which you want to register to tlc-centraal@uva.nl
After registering, you will receive an automated invitation for your Outlook calendar for each of the sessions (please don’t forget to accept). If the location is not yet known at the time of registration, an update (for each date) will follow later.
More information?